Bees are the central motif of "The Secret Life of Bees." The very first words of Lily's story begin with the Bees. They come to her room and give her a message that she should leave T. Ray's house and be on her own. Like guides throughout the story, they continue to show Lily how to live and to see the "secrets" that influence her own life. Lily follows the trail of the honey lable with the Black Mary on it left by her mother. It leads her to Tiburon and to the truth she seeks about her mother. In Tiburon, she lives in the honey house and she becomes a beekeeper. Bees are near the top of the list she gives August about what she loves.
For Lily, bees are a symbol of rebirth, sexual maturity, and her pown personal growth. They are her companions and drive her forward. The bees or their products (honey, wax, etc.) have a role in every important action that Lily takes. She finds a correlation between their "secret lives" and her own. The way that they care for the mother (queen) and their ability to work and survive spurs Lily on to accomplish the same things in her own life. Their reliance on an all-female community corresponds to her own dependence. The bee community helps Lily to perceive the human one.
I really like your observations here, Cindy! I especially appreciate the coorrelation you made between the bee community and Lily's community. In bee hives, every bee is dependent on the queen, a female, and the worker bees must report to her on pretty much everything. Without the queen, there would be no order or balance within the hive. She holds the community together.
ReplyDeleteOne more thought:
ReplyDeleteAnother motif I've noticed since I've been reading is that bees represent escape and freedom. In the very first lines of the book, Lily insinuates how she wants to break free from her current life by going on and on about the way T. Ray treats her and the way she misses her mother terribly. One night she lies in bed just waiting for the bees to swarm in and surround her. I take away from this the message of desperation to escape from life as she knows it.
WOW Emily...that's a great observation. I didn't notice that! Yes, I see it, she does feel desperate to escape her life with T. Ray. That's a great insight!
ReplyDeleteWow, Cindy, this was great I really enjoyed reading it! I feel like you concisely summed up what the whole book is about (and the parallelism between Lily's life the secret life of bees ;) ) I think this was great.
ReplyDeleteI think another motif that was shown throughout the entire book was female royalty, as represented by the queen bee, the new mothers Lily is now living with, and the black Mary. Each of these have a sacred position.
All the bees attend the queen.
Lily had never seen women as strong as those she was living with
And Mary, as the mother of Jesus was represented as black, giving her a place of royalty as mother to the King of Kings.
What do you think?
Oh Maryssa! I love that idea....female royalty. That is so perfect! One could write a dissertation
ReplyDeleteon this. Maybe you should think about it! Hey, I've got a girlfriend who is Catholic. She would absolutely love this. In fact, she's coming for graduation. I may let her read this. Maryssa, you have a great mind and interesting thoughts. I can't wait to see how it all turns out for you!